Food without chemicals

On any stroll around Stillwater, you can see that more and more neighbors are choosing to grow food in their gardens replacing at least some of their grassy areas with a vegetable plot instead.

Removing some of your lawn can provide more natural habitat for the pollinators you need to help with your veggies.

Maintaining the remaining grass with non-toxic organic practices can reduce your family's exposure to potential harm.

Why do we have lawns anyway?


Featuring in the plot lines of movies as diverse as Stepford Wives (1975) and American Beauty (1999), artists have been challenging the absurdity of the manicured look for several decades now. But as today's kids grow up more environmentally conscious, and many regions face water shortages, the idea of dedicating most of your outdoor space to a bright green lawn is becoming increasingly unfashionable too.

You might be surprised to consider that lawns weren't originally associated with private residences at all but rather with public spaces and grand estates.

They can be traced back to medieval Europe where in the 12th century, castle dwellers would clear the land surrounding their fortresses to enhance visibility and eliminate potential hiding places for attackers. These open areas were known as "launds" or "lans," and  the practice of maintaining them eventually transformed into cultivating grassy areas that were functional for recreation, such as archery and falconry. Over time, this notion expanded beyond fortresses and became associated with the grand gardens of nobility.

American landscape design culture actually has a surprisingly long history too, starting in colonial times and heavily influenced by European traditions. Then in 1841, Andrew Jackson Downing published the influential book "A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening," which promoted the idea of a well-manicured lawn as an essential element of a beautiful home. Downing's ideas gained popularity, and the suburban ideal of the lush green American yard began to take hold.

More an more people are taking back control of their outdoor space and there is a growing movement that challenges conventional aesthetics and the notion of a pristine, manicured lawn by redefining beauty and functionality in outdoor spaces. The "Food Not Lawns" movement encourages individuals to convert their traditional grassy areas into productive food-growing spaces, promoting the idea of utilizing land that would typically be dedicated to non-functional aesthetic use for growing fruits, vegetables, and herbs and advocating for locally grown food and reducing reliance on industrial agriculture.

Often the first practical step that homeowners take when considering how to start growing food at home is to plant a small garden in part of their yard, and in parallel move completely to a natural approach to caring for the rest of their grassy areas - in particular to move to non-toxic organic practices.  Even if you are considering planting food in your garden in the future, it can pay to stop using chemicals immediately in preparation, as many pesticides and herbicides can take years to break down naturally in the environment.

Great Resources For Home Gardeners

Forks In The Dirt

White Bear Lake-based Michelle is a writer, blogger and gardener who writes about small scale homesteading.

Tenth Acre Garden

Permaculture for the Suburbs: reclaiming the lawn and growing a stress-free garden using permaculture techniques